This past Saturday during Night 1 of WrestleMania 39, Rhea Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair to capture the Smackdown Women’s Championship in a match that has received high praise by many fans. Earlier that night, former multi-time Women’s Champion Becky Lynch teamed with WWE Hall of Famers Lita and Trish Stratus to defeat Damage CTRL.
Speaking with Daniel Cormier and Marc Raimondi for ESPN MMA following WrestleMania 39 Night Two, Lynch had the chance to comment on Ripley’s win, praising her as both one of the greatest female wrestlers she’s seen and the future of wrestling, although she then stated that she’s aiming to take the gold from her herself.
“She is the champion. She is one of the greatest female wrestlers I’ve ever seen in my entire life. She’s a natural, she’s a star. She is mesmerizing to watch. She’s the future of the wrestling business, I think. But I can’t wait to beat her for that title one day,”
-Becky Lynch
Continuing, Lynch stated that whilst her time will eventually come, she’s looking forward to seeing what Ripley does as champion on the blue brand, noting that she believes the brand’s women’s division is in need of a fresh coat of paint.
“My time is gonna come here one of these days, but Rhea has a lot of time left. I’m very excited [about] what she is going to do for the women’s division on SmackDown. I think it needs a fresh coat of paint, and I couldn’t think of a better fresh coat of paint than Rhea Ripley,”
-Becky Lynch
Ripley is set to “claim her throne” this Friday on Smackdown, whilst Lynch is set to team with Lita to defend their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez on the following episode of Raw.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
